Seventeen Syllables and The Joy Luck Club

Sorry to say I'll be relating “Seventeen Syllables” to the movie of "The Joy Luck Club" and not the book.

The movie is about first generation mothers telling second generation daughters of their experiences back in China to help them in their current lives. This shows a separation between second generation, Nisei, and first generation, Issei, as Yamamoto would describe in her text. Throughout the book and the film, the mothers teach their daughters about love and life even though there is a cultural barrier between them.

In “The Joy Luck Club”, I will talk more closely of  Ying Ying St. Clair’s story as she is the character that mostly portrayed Tome Hayashi in “Seventeen Syllables”. Ying Ying and Tome are shown as submissive to their husbands. Although Tome husband is not physically abusive to her, both Ying Ying and Tome husbands are degrading to their wives. Ying Ying would have to deal with her husband’s abusive words and actions even though they have a child. Tome deals with her husband’s burst of outrage when she talks about the one thing that she loves, Haiku. The abuse are a husband’s way of claiming their place as dominant to their wives when the wives begin to rise in dominance. In the text you can notice the rise of a wife, “Rosie noticed that her mother and Mr. Hayano were talking together at the little table… while her father was sitting at one end of the sofa looking through a copy of Life, the new picture magazine” (25). The father would feel belittled by looking at pictures on the sofa like a child and his wife sitting at the table discussing poetry like an adult and give him the reason to storm out. For Ying Ying she was abused by her husband daily so that she would feel subordinate to him, like a proper wife in the first generation.

The mothers also had sons that have died and have severely affected them to be able tell their daughters of the dangers in love. Both mothers are traumatized by their experience and have moments of remembrance for their dead child. Tome would remember her child at the end of the story as she tells Rosie why she puts up with her father, “Her mother, at nineteen, come to America and married her father as an alternative to suicide” (37). Her mother’s depression came from her tragic love life that led to her pregnancy and then to the miscarriage of her son yet she continued living because of the second chance of a beginning in America. Similarly, Ying Ying’s son also died as she accidentally left her baby to drown in the bath as she was consumed by hate and sorrow to her abusive husband. In the movie, Lena talks about her mother’s dazed moments where she is fazed and holds a sorrowful look with tears for her son, but what brings her back is her daughter.

Through these experiences, the mothers are able to warn their daughters about love and how it can turn horribly wrong. Although they have different cultures they still are able to teach them a lesson in love, to own your life. I believe that if there was a continuation of Rosie’s love life it would have been just like Lena’s. Lena’s love life is sad as she is also submissive to her husband even though her mother warned her. Her husband sees their relationship as something financial which depresses Lena. Ying Ying sees this and tells her that she shouldn’t be silent and that she must take command over her life. Tome says the same thing to Rosie to take control over her life by not marrying, “Promise, her mother whispered fiercely, promise. Yes, yes, I promise, Rosie said” (38.) Her mother predicts that she will be submissive like her and only wishes her for her own life. The mothers want what is best for their daughters and that is to break from tradition as a wife who is submissive to be their own self. Therefore, although Issei mothers teach their daughters traditions, they want their daughters to break free from them.

I could relate with Rosie and Lena as I am also a Nisei who was raised by an Issei mother. My mother, born in Korea, told me how being a female was difficult as her brother would have the best food to eat and the choice to go to a college while her and her sisters didn’t. She would tell me that she moved to America for my sister and me. Although my mother did not have tragic stories as Tome and Ying Ying she still told me the same lesson as they did and that is to take command over my life.

Killing a Mockingbird in the Town and Country

Gordimer’s “Town and Country Lovers” and Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird

            As I read Nadine Gordimer’s short stories, “Town and Country Lovers,” images of the ever-so-noble Atticus Finch and the mysteriously elusive Boo Radley, of Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, kept appearing in my mind. Who knew that all of that reading we did in high school would actually ever come in handy again?

            I’ll admit; there are some very obvious structural differences between these two works. For example, Gordimer’s short stories take place throughout South Africa, whereas Lee’s novel is set in Alabama in the United States. However, even two places that are so geographically distinct from one another – separated by a large body of water and 8,000 some-odd miles – share surprising similarities in terms of sociocultural and historical context.

            In “Town and Country Lovers,” both stories focus on the interracial relationships between white men, von Leinsdorf and Paulus Eysendyck, and black or “coloured” women, an unnamed “girl” and Thebedi. There is a significant emphasis on the illegal nature of these relationships, as both stories incorporate some legal involvement or court preceding. For example, in the first story, policemen raid von Leinsdorf’s apartment and take the pair to jail, where an extensive and intrusive medical examination is performed on the “girl” to determine an exact date of the alleged illegal act. In the second story, the plot concludes with a court preceding, which is held for the murder of Thebedi’s (and Eysendyck’s) baby, although Eysendyck is conveniently found to be “not guilty.”

Similarly, in To Kill a Mockingbird, the story centers around a court trial in which Atticus Finch, the narrator’s father and a white lawyer, chooses to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who is (wrongly) accused of raping a young white woman, Mayella Ewell. Atticus, in heroic style, not only disproves the accusation and ousts Mayella and her father as liars, but even goes the extra mile by establishing that Mayella actually advanced onto Tom – not the other way around. However, despite the painfully-obvious evidence of Tom’s innocence, the jury somehow convicts him as guilty, and he is later shot and killed when trying to escape the unjustly confines of prison.

…Excuse me? Let me see if I understand this correctly. Paulus brutally murders his own newborn baby and gets away with it – scot-free, I might add – and Tom, completely innocent, is irrefutably proven just that and gets a bullet – wait, 17 bullets – in his back? Well, so much for “justice” and “equality” and whatnot in the courts. How am I, as a reader, supposed to be not completely and utterly depressed by these outcomes? The apathy and injustice of it all just kills me. Albeit, these narratives aren’t written about present-day happenings and current conditions, but even so, the harsh realities of racism in the Deep South and apartheid in South Africa have a similarly chilling and sobering effect.

Despite differences in geographical location, racism in the South and apartheid in South Africa are actually quite conceptually similar. These policies pervaded society and had roots in both law and culture.

For example, Jim Crow laws and apartheid legislation (largely the Immorality Act) legally separated whites from blacks and “coloreds.” Such legal encroachment on people’s personal lives echoed the somewhat mechanical and apathetic treatment of people’s intimate relationships, private lives, and especially multiracial individuals.

However, maybe even just as powerful and dangerous as legislation, these ideas were inescapably pervasive in the widespread, everyday attitudes of Southern and South African culture. For example, despite the in-your-face, inarguable evidence that was presented to the juries in both “Town and Country Lovers” and To Kill a Mockingbird, the courts consistently, unapologetically, and apathetically went against the obvious and instead ruled in favor of the white man or woman. And to what outcomes? No sympathy for a mother who has lost her baby to a selfishly murderous ex-lover and an unjust but unrecognized death; and an innocent man sentenced to prison, and 17 bullets in his back when he can’t stand to be denied his rightful freedom. I found this to be gut-wrenchingly miserable, as I would assume that any human being with a soul would agree. I just can’t even fathom having to live amidst such blatant injustice – what are we supposed to rely on if we can’t even rely on our legal systems to be fair and just? Might as well just give up.

            In both “Town and Country Lovers” and To Kill a Mockingbird, the interesting interface and constant combination of law and culture are examined with respect to interracial relationships during times of racism and apartheid in two very different but very similar areas. Both narratives demonstrate recurring themes of law and culture, apathy, violence and justice, and racism and apartheid through the lens and context of a time period (thankfully) much different than our own.

Sizwe Bansi is Dead!

Because Sizwe Bansi is dead, he can stay alive. Likewise, because Charles Darney is dead, Charles too can stay alive and accompany his wife and his daughter. Just as Sizwe becomes Robert Zwelinzima, Charles Darney has to become Sdyney Carton. When I read Sizwe Bansi Is Dead, what stood out the most is the character, Bansi, taking on someone else’s identity and that reminded me of Charles Darney making the same decision to stay alive.

Sizwe Bansi is alive because he has a new identity. In the play Sizwe Bansi Is Dead by Fugar, Kani, and Ntshona, the story surrounds Sizwe Bansi who came to a town to find a job to support his family. Unfortunately, because of a stamp on his passbook that indicates his criminal record, he cannot obtain a job and he must leave the town. Sizwe Bansi, nonetheless, becomes Robert Zwelinzima to stay in town, get a job, and support his family.

Similarly, Charles Darney is alive because he is dead, at least his name dies. From the novel, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Charles Darney has to take on a new identity like Sizwe Bansi. However, Charles Darney’s problem is that he has to be executed because he is related to the Marquis, who wronged the French citizens. Nonetheless, Charles is not the one who die; instead of him, Sdyney Carton substitutes and become Charles Darney. Thus, Sdyney Carton is the one who dies as Charles and Charles must live as Sdyney to survive.

Another similarity the two stories have is that the characters switch their identities and sacrifice their pride and more for their love ones. Sizwe only becomes Robert Zwelinzima because he needs to stay in New Brighton and to find a job that can support his wife and his four children back in King William’s Town. In the novel, Sdyney is in love with Lucie Manette, but she is married to Charles. Nonetheless, Sdyney still loves her and wants her to be happy. Therefore, he is willing to replace Charles and to die in his lieu. Thus, Sdyney Carton becomes Charles Darney. In addition, Charles Darney has to change his identity and become Sdyney because not only does he not have a choice, but also he needs to support Lucie, his father-in-law, and his daughter.

Besides changing identities, the characters, Sizwe Bansi and Sdyney Carton are similar in that they come to accept their new identities. At first Sizwe is reluctant to become Robert Zwelinzima, but with much persuasion from Buntu, he realizes that he needs to be Robert. Still Sizwe cannot say he is Robert; nonetheless, when he goes to meet Style, he is able to say his full name and his identification number. This is similar to Sdyney in that when he first becomes Carton, he is not responsive to his name being called. When Sdyney meets a seamstress, who thought it is Charles, Sdyney do not realize that he is being called. Although he does not need to become another person and know the details like Sizwe does, Sdyney does become Charles when he is being called by the executioner because he do not hesitate and gets guillotined.

In the beginning, Sizwe do not want change his name because of his pride but after a while and the persuasions of his friend, he realizes that his family is more important. Sdyney is only substituting for Charles because of Lucie and Charles has no choice but to accept what happened because he was drugged to sleep.  Thus, these stories make me realize that names are just something we are referred to. After reading their decision to change their identity, I feel we can identify ourselves in many other ways beside the name. We are distinguished from one another in our personality and character, so I believe that although a name is meaning, who we are and how we portray ourselves is more important because a name can be changed easily. Therefore, I think that a name is not extremely important especially now that we can change our name easily but who we are on the inside and our personalities cannot be changed.

Aura and The Sixth Sense

Aura and The Sixth Sense

                Carlos Fuente’s Aura, depicts a romantic, yet disturbing love story that blurs the boundary between the worlds of the living and dead. The supernatural elements and symbolism depicted in Aura are similar to those in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense.

The story of The Sixth Sense illustrates the relationship between child psychologist, Dr. Malcolm Crowe, and his patient, Cole Sear. Like his former client, Vincent Gray, Cole is troubled by his extraordinary ability to see the dead. At first, Dr. Crowe is hesitant about helping Cole; his previous sessions with Vincent had ended in a failure. However, he eventually becomes invested in Cole and advises him to communicate with the ghosts.  Given this suggestion, Cole learns to overcome his fear by helping the dead who are trapped in the living world. At the same time, Cole aids Dr. Crowe in discovering that he also dead, a realization that leaves the most viewers in shock.

Though the endings of both the novel and the movie are startling, there are numerous details hinting at the true identities of both Felipe and Dr. Crowe. In Aura, when Felipe views the advertisement in the newspaper, he instinctively knows that it is addressed directly at him. The nature of Felipe’s job, completing and writing General Llorente’s memoirs, also serves as a valuable clue because memoirs usually contain the writer’s memories. Similarly, in The Sixth Sense, though Dr. Crowe appears to communicate with living people, aside from Cole, there is no actual interaction. His wife’s refusal to converse with him at the restaurant, also demonstrates this point. Although these subtle hints are dispersed throughout the book and movie, it is difficult to deduce the truths about both characters without reaching the stories’ conclusions.

                Furthermore, both stories contain moments that illustrate synchronicity between two characters. Fuentes reveals a scene where Felipe witnesses the doubling of Senora Consuelo with Aura when he writes, “Senora becomes motionless, and at the same moment Aura puts her knife on her plate and also becomes motionless…”(69). In the same way, the movie connects Cole and Vincent, who share the unique ability to see ghosts, by depicting both characters with white portions in their hair. The use of mirroring characters provides insight into the characters’ future; Cole may have followed in Vincent’s footsteps without Dr. Crowe’s help, and it is exposed that Aura is Senora Consuelo in the end.       

                Additionally, color plays a significant role in emphasizing important features of both The Sixth Sense and Aura. The darkness engulfing Felipe as he enters Senora Consuelo’s house creates a sense of distortion and confusion. The audience is left questioning whether Felipe is following the ruffling sound of Aura’s taffeta or Senora Consuelo’s. Aura’s black Christ also adds to the eeriness of her character. The use of red to highlight significant scenes is also prominent in The Sixth Sense; Shyamalan deliberately uses red when ghosts are present. For example, Cole’s tent when a ghost appears is red, and whenever Dr. Crowe is around, his wife is shown sleeping covered in a red shawl.  

                Clearly, Aura and The Sixth Sense share many similar features through the symbolism, characterization, and story line  The conclusions in both stories leave the audience stumped, and thus are works that encourage us to reread or re-watch over and over again.  

Aura, Dali, and Gonsalves: Reality or Imagination?

           Aura, written by Carlos Fuentes, is a riveting novel that contrasts the horror and beauty invoked by the genre, magical realism. Although magical realism may not be characterized as a genre but simply labeled as a literary mode, it seeks to challenge the union of complete opposites. It usually entails two conflicting perspectives, one being a mundane view of reality and the other being a supernatural, yet ordinary, idea of reality. What makes magical realism simply enticing is that the supernatural is usually presented in a normal setting, containing modern humans and a modern society. Furthermore, the detachment of the supernatural from reality makes the novel hard to understand, or even conclude. Although it may seem unconventional to write a novel that leaves the reader utterly puzzled, magical realism allows the reader to unveil the hidden meanings that the supernatural holds.

            Despite the fact that there is a sinister looking black cat on the cover of the book, the novel begins quite ordinary. A man by the name of Felipe Montero is reading the newspaper when he is immediately drawn into an advertisement. Although it is ordinary to respond to advertisements, the one that Felipe responded towards was mysterious and vague stating: “Wanted: young historian, conscientious, neat. Perfect knowledge of colloquial French” (Pg 5). As Felipe seeks out the job, he will step from a rational view of reality into a supernatural distortion of reality upon entering the home of his employer. Senora Consuelo, Felipe’s employer, instructs Felipe that he must publish the memoirs of her dead husband, General Llorente. As Felipe is drawn in closer and closer to the dark, enclosed house, he becomes overwhelmed with feelings for Aura, the niece.

Towards the end of the novel, all that is apparent is that Felipe is sexually drawn towards Aura. One night, overcome by lust and desire, Felipe lays next to Aura who begins to immediately wither away and transform into Consuelo, who is 109 years old. Upset and horrified by the situation, Consuelo promises Felipe that she will bring Aura back. This short novel of only seventy-two pages is enough to make your head spin. Furthermore, it is hard to judge the meaning of this story. It leaves the reader with so many different thoughts, ideas, and interpretations because it is such a psychological reading. Throughout the novel, which is written in second person narration, the reader embarks on this psychological quest towards understanding if Aura is an actual person or if she is simply a character of ones imagination. Frankly, the reader really loses ones sense of reality. Perhaps that is just the idea that the author is trying to achieve by writing from a magical realist perspective.

In search of a better understanding, it may be beneficial to aesthetical look at something. Magical realism does not only take the form of literary works, but it also applies to art. Just like readers become psychologically challenged by a text, art viewers are also challenged by aesthetic pieces of art that are challenging to the naked eye. Magical realism as it applies to art came right after the surrealism movement of the 1920s. Surrealist works present a mode of expression that released the subconscious imagination. Branching off this basis, magical realism sought to express the same modes of the imagination but by incorporating everyday objects or people. For instance, take a close look at Rob Gonsalves’ painting, “The Sun Sets Sail.” Are you looking at a series of columns descending from the distance or are you looking at a series of boats descending from the distance? Now ask yourself what it is you are actually looking at. Is it reality or is it an interpretation of reality that combines imagination?

The Sun Set Sail, by Rob Gonsalves

Another example can come from Salvador Dali’s, “Metamorphosis of Narcissus.” Dali printed the same image in two different hues, thus producing two different visual illusions. When you first look at it, you see an individual sitting in a pond. Yet that same image projected again, shows a hand coming out of the ground holding an egg. What is the reality of the painting? What is the imaginative interpretation?

Metamorphosis of Narcissus, by Salvador Dali

By looking at different forms of magical realism, a great question emerges: What is reality and what is fantasy/magic? These are the two realms that both authors and artist move through. Furthermore, I thought that it was important to bring up this idea that magical realism presents because it was an idea that I held throughout the reading of the novel. I could not pin point an idea as to what the author wanted us to think. I constantly questioned the author’s motive: whether I was supposed to come to my own personal conclusion or if there was a universal conclusion. I also questioned my imagination throughout the novel since I always imagined Aura in the story as a tangible human being, but towards the end that notion was challenged and almost completely unjustifiable. Just like in the paintings by Dali and Gonsalves, who knows what it is you are supposed to be looking at. Who knows what Felipe was supposed to believe? It will forever be a mystery. 

"Just Before the War with the Eskimos" and Downton Abbey

J. D. Salinger's "Just Before the War with the Eskimos" provides a glimpse into the lives of those affected one way or another by World War II. Similarily, the second season of the British show, Downton Abbey, also depicts post-war life for the Crawley family and their staff. Despite being set in the World War I time period instead, Downton Abbey reminds me of Salinger’s stories because the show also deals with several war-related issues like that of a soldier’s honor and society’s view of war.

In Downton Abbey, the Dowager Countess of Grantham (played by Maggie Smith and otherwise known to the legions of Harry Potter fans as Professor McGonagall) uses her influence to prevent one of the Crawley family’s footman, William, from being drafted. But for the sake of honor and to silence those who call him a coward for not fighting, William goes on to fight in the war. After being seriously wounded by an explosion, William dies, but dies a hero. His widow will later reap the benefit of being a soldier’s wife, and he will forever be remembered as one who died while fighting valiantly. This causes me to question how honorable it is to fight in a war and the consequences it would bring. To serve in a war is a manly thing to do, and even with the possibility of losing one’s life, it may seem worth it in the end by gaining the respect of others and being remembered as a hero.

Contrastingly, Franklin in “Just Before the War with the Eskimos” does not serve in the war, but instead works in an airplane factory. Every time Ginnie mentions anything to do with war, he fidgets and belittles it. When Ginnie mentions how someone is lieutenant commander in the Navy, Franklin sarcastically responds and tries to shift the topic of conversation. Franklin is portrayed as a coward and he even feels the need to explain his situation to Ginnie by saying it’s because of a heart condition so she will sympathize for him.

When a war breaks out, the pressures of society cause many people to enlist in order to gain the respect of others. Rather than spend their whole life viewed as a coward, they would rather risk their lives and fight in the war. But as seen in the case of Franklin, those who don’t enlist seem attacked by peers and societal pressures around them to explain their situation. He even tells Ginnie of the Eskimo war being fought with old men in order to make fighting seem comical instead of respectful. But most of the time, war is portrayed to be dangerous and so life changing that it will, in the words of the Disney Mulan song, “make a man out of you”, almost as if it is a coming of age activity. People enter wars as immature little boys, and if they do somehow make it out alive, will come out if it as a man who has experienced and witnessed the horrors of war.

Most of us are people who aim to please, whether it is in the context of family, work, or school. In both "Just Before the War with the Eskimos" and Downton Abbey, the characters want to please those around them and gain respect from their peers. The idea of wanting to evoke a manly man image instead of a wimp and coward who stays home can be seen in both William and Franklin, whether they participate in war or not.

Putting myself in those shoes, I am not sure what I would choose to do. Enlisting in a war is an individual’s choice but impacts other people as well. Though I hate the thought of war and worry what witnessing all those gory images would do to me, I would most likely succumb like William and end up enlisting due to pressures from society and peers. At least I will be remembered as a hero should I lose my life. And even if it is a mundane death, I will have tried. Should I decide to not enlist, those I care for would also be dragged down with me and have to endure harsh judgment from others as well. The responsibility I feel for them is enough to persuade me to join.

Downton Abbey-William Enlisting

Disney Mulan Song

Mad Men and “A Street Car Named Desire.”

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In the third episode of the Mad Men television series, “The Marriage of Figero,” the viewer is given a clear portrayal of the lifestyle for many Americans in the 1960’s. The setting of the suburban household, workplace, and city atmosphere reveals the private lives and scandals of its many characters. When watching this episode, I was able to make strong connections to the 1947 play “A Street Car Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams.

            Although many of you may not have read or seen this play, it focuses around the central character Blanche DuBois who moves to the apartment of her sister, Stella, and her husband, Stanley, after losing the family home.  As the play continues to develop, more of Blanche’s past is revealed as she talks to one of Stanley’s friends, Mitch. The audience learns that years ago her husband committed suicide after Blanche discovered and reprimanded him for being homosexual. Although they bond over the loss of a loved one and begin to develop a relationship, Stanley divulges to Mitch about the numerous sexual liaisons and affairs that Blanche had in the past. When Blanche drunkenly admits that the stories are true, Mitch tells her that he cannot marry her. After this point in the story Blanche goes mentally insane, and the play ends as a doctor comes to take Blanche to an insane asylum.

            Although the plot may not directly lead one to connect this play to Mad Men, it has many parallels and underlying themes that are similar. For example, Blanche and Don Draper both have a poorly disguised drinking problem. Even though smoking and drinking is normal during these time periods, in both cases, their excessive drinking can be seen as an escape from reality. As both characters withdraw from their unsympathetic reality, their drunken state leads to destructive behavior. Don uses alcohol as a diversion from his nagging wife, which can be seen when he is drunk and doesn’t come back to his daughter’s birthday party after picking up the cake. Blanche’s retreat through alcohol allows her to shield herself from reality and the horrors of her past, which she tries to avoid by moving to her sister’s apartment. Unlike Don however, Blanche tries to keep her drinking a secret. Inevitably when the truth comes out about her past, Blanche loses the affection of Mitch and insanity emerges as she retreats fully into herself.

            Another connection that can be made between these two works are the character’s secret personal lives and the resulting false images of perfection that are created. During the 1960’s and the post war era, the idea of perfection was heavily embedded in society. This concept is conveyed in Mad Men as the women are expected to be the “perfect” housewife or the “perfect” mother. People strived to achieve this flawless image through material items and outward appearances such as their houses, cars, jobs, clothing, etc. This can be seen as Helen is criticized for the car she drives and the fact that she is a single mother. In both of these works, multiple characters create façades to hide secrets from their personal lives and uphold society’s expectations of perfection. In “A Street Car Named Desire,” Stanley is portrayed as a loyal friend and a good husband to Stella. Unbeknownst to the other characters in the play, Stanley is an abusive husband who also rapes Blanche.  Additionally, Blanche also pretends to be a proper and dignified woman who’s false etiquette is an attempt to make her seem more attractive to men and boost her self-esteem.  These misleading impressions can also be seen in Mad Men during Don’s daughter’s birthday party. As Don makes his way through the house with a video camera, everything seems idyllic as children are playing, men are smoking, and people are enjoying each other’s company and conversations. However, once the audience is able to see outside the camera’s view we are able to acknowledge that the scene is not so perfect as Helen calls another man out for implying an affair, women are gossiping in the kitchen, and the men are distant from their families. In both of these texts, it is evident that true perfection is never really achieved but is merely a façade.

            Both of these texts made me realize that today our society is not necessarily all that different. People still strive for the appearance of perfection in order to be accepted by others. We try to have the nicest clothes, the most expensive car, or the biggest house. People even alter their physical appearance to become more attractive. Although it may not be as obvious today, our society still has a huge focus on the idea of perfection, whether it is true or not.

"The Mexican Girl" and Burn Notice

Jack Kerouac's - "The Mexican Girl"

https://smartsite.ucdavis.edu/access/content/group/1f97d453-b926-41a2-90d5-2a5b313063de/Course%20Readings/Kerouac%20The%20Mexican%20Girl.pdf

Burn Notice Trailer




"The Mexican Girl" tells the story about a guy named Sal who meets a beautiful Mexican girl in California. After meeting the Mexican girl, they both decide to go back to Sal's home in New York and thus results in an (presuming one of his many) adventure. Burn Notice is about a spy named Michael that is suddenly "burned" and therefore is relieved of all his duties as a spy for unknown reasons. The US Government dumps Michael in Miami and leaves him with nothing but questions asking "why" and no source of income.

            At first, the thought of comparing a young, carefree wanderer with a world-class spy was silly, until I noticed a strikingly obvious similarity between the two. Sal from "The Mexican Girl" and Michael from Burn Notice were both on a journey that involved a final destination or truth of some sort. The destination being New York for Sal and finding out the truth to why he was "burned" in Michael's case. During the journeys, both Sal and Michael encounter different types of people and try to fuse themselves into their world.

            Sal decided to go with Terry to her family's town so that they could make some money and get a bus to New York. There he meets Terry's brother Freddy and friend Ponzo and immediately started to try to be one of them. The first day that he met Freddy and Ponzo he went around drinking with them from bar to bar and then tried to talk and shout like them. Along with drinking their beer, Sal also eats their food. He goes out into the fields and does farm-work to earn money to feed his "family". Just like all the other Mexicans, he makes just enough to buy food and water. All these things show the process of Sal trying to become one of the Mexicans.

            After Michael was dumped in Miami, he becomes sort of a private-spy and started to help random people that would come to him with problems. For example, in "Blind Spot", Michael helps a woman that is robbed of all her life savings by a con artist that poses as if he loved her. In another episode called "Guilty as Charged", Michael helps a lawyer who approaches him with the task of rescuing his daughter from some of his pissed-off clients. When these people enter into Michael's life, he tryst to engage himself into their lives and makes their problems his own. When the lawyer came to him for help with his kidnapped daughter, Michael goes to the lawyer's office and shows him that he cares for his daughter's safety and will help him.

            In addition to adapting to a new world, both Sal and Michael are similar in the sense that they both never lose focus on their ultimate goal despite being sidetracked. All throughout "The Mexican Girl", it was noticeable that Sal kept referencing to the amount of money he had and whether or not it would be enough to get him to New York. His goal to get to New York was in the back of his mind throughout the whole entire story. Similarly, Michael never forgets that his main goal is to find out why he was "burned". He is continuously looking for evidence to why he was "burned" even though he is busy helping other people.

            Another major similarity between the two characters is that both characters are able to casually walk away from the people they were associated with. At the end of his time in California, Sal secretly got money from his aunt and decided to go back to New York alone. When he was leaving, he told Terry he would see her in New York even though he knew she was probably not going to come. Just like that he left Terry behind and was on his way to another adventure. Just like Sal, Michael simply walks away from the people he helps when he's finished. He tells them to take care and leaves them to do whatever they do.

            When put under a similar situation like meeting and engaging with new people, Sal and Michael react quite similarly. It is funny considering one person is a free-spirited adventurer and the other is a dangerous spy. Both of them met with the people and tried to engage in their world and then parted ways. Two very different characters and two similar situations.

"The Lottery" and Battle Royale

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” manages to spread its influence far beyond what a short 9 page story would suggest.  The calm atmosphere it creates and the chilling revelation within the last few paragraphs can be seen paralleled in many other literary works.  When I read the story, the concept of friends and family turning against each other due to the insistence of time-honored tradition, I was strongly reminded of the Japanese book Battle Royale.  I believe these two stories share enough in common to be compared, and have enough differences to offer a unique look at one another.

Battle Royale is, in a nutshell, the OG version of The Hunger Games.  In it, Japan has succumbed to an authoritarian government which ruthlessly controls everyday life in order to maintain power.  With the aim of maintaining citizen complacency and subdue any sort of organized revolt, the government terrorizes the populace by holding “The Program”.  Every year, a junior high school class is kidnapped and isolated from the population.  Our protagonists are taken to an island, given provisions, maps, a collar which will detonate a bomb if they attempt to escape, and most importantly: weapons.  The children are instructed that they must kill each other, and the last person alive “wins” and receives a government pension.  As the game begins, the death tolls quickly mount, with some students very eager to participate and ruthlessly kill others.

Obviously, these two stories share one integral plot device in common: the betrayal of friends/subversion of any sense of community through the ritualized murder of others.  In both situations, people who ordinarily would be friendly to another are willing to accept a foreign authority (the government in Battle Royale, the imposing presence of tradition in “The Lottery”) which demands that they hurt one another.  However, while this action is given a specific cause in Battle Royale (to scare the public into remaining content), “The Lottery” is not so clear about why the ritual takes place.  Although one character briefly mentions that the sacrificial stoning may offer a good harvest for their small town, it seems that the villagers simple commit the atrocity because they already have been or so long, and they fear the change that would be brought by ceasing the action.  Despite the talk of other villages banning the lottery, the townspeople would rather continue with the murder of others in order to maintain whatever peace they already have.

When I read these stories, they always leave me with the same feeling: what would I do in that situation? What if my 8^th grade class was kidnapped and forced to fight to the death?  What if I grew up in an isolated town that chose one person a year to die by the hands of the entire community?  I believe it is this sense of realness, the ease of which I can insert myself in the plot of these stories, which gives them their real staying power.  It challenges my preconception of myself: I am truly unsure whether I would break down and cry or let emotions fall aside and join in the killing if I was a character in either work.  By making the reader think about his actions and just what it would take to break bonds with those closest to us, these stories challenge ourselves.

 “The Lottery” asks the reader to identify why we let pointless violence stay in our lives, why we something hold us back when it does nothing but frighten and worry us.  Due to the fact that it is merely a short story, when I compare it to Battle Royale I can’t help but wonder what it would be like if “The Lottery” was longer, with a more developed ending.  Battle Royale ends on a relatively happy note, in which the main characters manage to break away from the violence and oppression they know and choose to search for a new life.  It makes me think of what it would take for the tradition of the lottery to be removed from the town, or at least whether any characters would be inspired to escape the town and distance themselves from the violence.  Although this is pure speculation, it is the stories that make me think about what didn’t happen as much as I think about what did happen which truly stay with me.

Welcome COM 4sters! This is the spot where you'll be blogging for our class. Please feel free to make this blog your own--I look forward to reading all of your thoughts on the texts that we'll be looking at together. Enjoy, and blog on.